


Heartland

by CeeceePepper



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Alternative Plot, F/M, Light Smut, TW: Mental Health, TW: Violence, TW: injuries, mentions of mental health, nothing really bad tbh, tw: death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-05-17 19:29:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5882722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeeceePepper/pseuds/CeeceePepper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I got a request to do some stuff with a female sole survivor, and I really like my F!SS, Lionheart, and her romance with MacCready. She doesn't follow the 'canon' story, since this is a bit after she gives up her search for Shaun, she has no faction, and she only knows Nick Valentine and Piper, since she stays place in Diamond City and Goodneighbor for the most part.</p><p>This is broken down into many parts, specifically parts of the weeks MacCready is with Lionheart, as they are major points to him. Mainly MacCready's thoughts, but its written in a general POV, as I hate having to read first-POV fics.</p><p>[EDIT] Here's the 8tracks for this sinful fic: https://8tracks.com/magickarin/the-king-and-lionheart</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meetings

**The Third Rail. Week 1, Day 5. 2:31AM.**

  
If you've ever had to deal with being alone, you'd understand MacCready's stance. He was just sipping a drink, thoughts in his head as he sat in that back red room. But this time, he wasn't alone.  
His new boss, who refused to be called anything besides 'Lionheart', was sitting by him. She was drinking at some Gwinnett Stout and staying silent to herself, as well. Conversation wasn't MacCready's for-te, so by all means, he could care less if she wanted to talk. He'd reply if spoken to, but that's about it.  
It was only the fifth day he'd been with her, and she hadn't strayed far from Goodneighbor. It seemed like she might be stuck there, but she had mentioned being 'on hold' for something. He didn't question it, but it was starting to get a little boring, MacCready had to admit. They'd leave Goodneighbor, patrol around killing super mutants and raiders alike, and then head back. And they didn't have any necesarily 'nice' places to sleep, so they mainly slept on the couches back there. It wasn't like anybody came back there anyway.  
He eventually began to notice she was falling asleep, her head in her hand. Or maybe she was dying of radiation poisioning. Something like that. He could never tell with her. Though what he could tell, was that she... didn't have her welding goggles on. They were off, around her dark neck, sitting on the fur lining of her explorer's outfit.  
He could see her eyes, for once. They had dark circles underneath them, and when he leaned closer to look, her eyes shot open and she sat up straight, looking at him like a startled cat. Funny enough, she didn't seem phased after that.  
"... Sorry, boss. Just making sure you're okay." MacCready muttered, looking away and swishing his drink in his cup.  
".... Mhhm." Lionheart muttered, taking another chug of her drink.  
MacCready not wanting to take the chance to sleep, he ended up taking a sort-of post by her chair, sitting on the floor beside it. When he began to doze off himself, she tapped his shoulder.  
"Oi. MacCready."  
She stood up, and when she did, he tiredly did as well. He didn't manage to speak to her before she grabbed his shoulder and tossed him into the chair. Started, MacCready looked to her. She sat where he did, on the floor.  
"Get some sleep. I don't need a sleep-deprived gunman with a sniper rifle." Lionheart said sternly, loading her pistol.  
"..."  
He couldn't really argue. She had given him a seat, and an opportunity to sleep, so he gladly took it; he dozed off in that red chair, Lionheart eventually dozing off beside him, head against the chair.

\-------------------------  
**Goodneighbor. Week 2, Day 1. 12:35PM.**

  
As it turned out, their 'being on hold' session was actually just Lionheart waiting for KL-E-O to get a certain weapon in, and to gather some extra belongings. When they exited Goodneighbor, weapon's ready, she heard some hollaring.  
"LIONHEART!" A woman called, soon turning the corner to Goodneighbor's entrance and waving her pistol, "Oh, thank God you're here, there was a huge super mutant out there with his dog trying to rip my to shreads! Why would you send me out here to Goodneighbor?!"  
"I needed an escort, Piper," Lionheart muttered flatly, "And you are the only person willing. Who else would I ask? Preston fucking Garvey all the way up in Sanctuary? Psh."  
She rolled her eyes in reply. "You and I both know Preston isn't that bad."  
Lionheart shook her head, "Come on. Me and MacCready are gonna take care of that Supermutant. You stay behind us and keep hidden. Run back if you need to."  
MacCready took that as a signal to start loading his rifle, Piper looking to him curiously, before nodding to Lionheart. Lionheart put on her goggles, her deathclaw gauntlet on one hand and a fragmentation grenade pulled from her pocket. Piper seemed well accustomed to Lionheart's actions, though MacCready was still wary. He hadn't actually seen Lionheart fight one-on-one with super mutants, as she usually had her guns on use, not the gauntlet. To an extent, the huge gauntlet kind of scared MacCready. How did a woman like Lionheart get a gauntlet made from the bones of a fucking deathclaw?  
Piper led them back quietly to where the super mutant was, his dog panting around and sniffing for people. The super mutant didn't look too happy, as he was in a stride with Piper earlier. Big, green, and icky. MacCready hated super mutants, for the most part.  
They were in a streetway, some boxes and discarded mail boxes, Nuka Cola machines, and other parts distributed to the sides. Piper got to one, and MacCready got to the other, Lionheart throwing her furred hood up.  
She signaled MacCready to get ready, and he obeyed, looking into his rifle's sight and looking to the super mutant. He was to shoot when she got a hold of him, or shoot out the hound.  
Lionheart bit the safety pin, pulling it and throwing it towards the super mutant. The moment it exploded, a big puff of smoke engulfed that section, the super mutant grunting and yelling in response, and a single dog cry. MacCready watched the gore of the dog's body destroyed by the fragmentation grenade, though he didn't cringe. He kept an eye on the super mutant, his eyes seeing Lionheart finally. Like a wild cat, she jumped off the mutant hound's mangled corpse, getting some air, and slashing against the super mutant with her claw. Her shadow was really the only thing he could see, and MacCready looked wide-eyed to this as he shot off the super mutant's head. He began to reload his rifle, looking as Lionheart ripped her claw gauntlet from the corpse, grunting. She was covered in quite a bit of blood. She looked up, and then he heard Piper gasp.  
"MacCready!" Lionheart hollared, and that's when he saw it. He was in such stirr from earlier, that it took him a moment to realize that it was a giant shadow over him. Snatched by the back of the neck, he was tugged into the air by a super mutant, his rifle pulled from him. He struggled, hand searching his pockets for a knife, or anything.  
"Puny human!" The super mutant hissed, gripping MacCready harder. He coughed, and his vision got fuzzy as he watched something snatch the pain away, he guessed. MacCready couldn't tell, because whenever he landed from being let go, he hit his head against something metal.  
Whenever he woke up however, he was having a bit of trouble seeing what was what. He sat up, quickly, panting. It was almost a panic, but he realized very quickly he was good.  
Lionheart was sitting over near him, in a chair, with a magazine pulled to herself, a cigarette in her mouth and a shot glass by her desk. MacCready looked down, to see he was in her bed. His face grew warm, and he looked to her with a confused look.  
"Smacked your head on the back of a Nuka Cola machine after the super mutant dropped out of the game." Lionheart muttered, blowing smoke from her mouth and making an O with the smoke.  
He grunted and got up. 1 upped by a cat lady, again. Lionheart put her cigarette out on the table, the butt put into the pile on the same table. The room smelled of tobacco.

  
\-------------------------  
**Home Plate. Week 2, Day 4. 7:49PM.**

  
It had been a few days, where he was ordered to stay in her home and to be idle while she went to handle some things. Of course, MacCready didn't exactly want to be idle in her home, but it was cozy. He'd occasionally go out for some noodles, talk to the residents. Turned out, he kind of disliked Diamond City. Place felt like everybody mandatorally had wooden spoons shoved in their holes twice a day.  
Of course, eating noodles at the 'Home Plate' with Piper, and listening to a jukebox at about 8 at night, was turning out to be not much funner than the latter. Though Piper did talk a lot, at least some of it was interesting.  
"So, MacCready," Piper asked, stirring her noodles around idly, "What's up with you sticking around with Kitty Mama?"  
"Kitty Mama? You mean Lionheart?" MacCready asked, finishing his bite of noodles.  
"Yeah. You're hired, right?"  
"...Uh. Yea. Why else would I stick around her crazy ass?"  
Piper hummed, smiling at her noodles. MacCready found that to be kind of creepy.  
"Because, she's really amazing if you get to know her." Piper mentioned, "She's not as crazy and flat as she seems to be, that's just how she acts so she doesn't get hurt."  
"What the hell do you mean? That's how everybody is. Any softer and people would get squashed left and right. And come to think of it," MacCready huffed, "That already kind of happens. Like, every day."  
"Everybody's soft on the inside, as much as some don't want to see that. Hardened from war, seeing things in this wretched commonwealth. I know just as well as anybody else that we are just people," Piper spoke quietly, "So don't treat her poorly, alright?"  
"As if I would," MacCready scoffed in reply, "She'd rip me to shreds if I talked back at her. Even though I already do."  
"...Just, watch your back, MacCready. She isn't a force to be messed with."

  
\-------------------------  
**Home Plate. Week 2, Day 6. 7:49PM.**

  
Lionheart came home.  
It wasn't like it was anything elegant; it was the complete opposite. She dropped her bag at the door, the heaviness of it causing a thud against the wood floor. Lionheart was dirty, caked with blood and dirt. And she sure seemed tired, the gentle huffs and her...  
... Was she sniffling?  
MacCready stood from the desk he was at, moving his modded rifle away. He peered the corner, Lionheart tugging herself upstairs, wiping her face.  
"Lionheart," MacCready muttered, trying to get her attention. She flinched, pausing and waiting before turning. She had a little blood, some dirt mixing with her tears from when she wiped her face. MacCready's heart made a small jump, at seeing her hurt; seeing her so vulnerable, when she'd appeared to be as thick and harsh as a stone axe grinder.  
"What?" She softly croaked out, a sour, default look coming to her face.  
"... What the hell happened? Are you alright?" MacCready finally managed to get out, and when he did, her face grew red; he wasn't sure if it was from the rage or not. He was sure, when she stormed down the stairs at him, suddenly lunging at him.  
He managed to catch her wrist, but not before he had hit the workshop bench, his lower back pressed awkwardly against the cold metal top.  
She growled, her face red with anger as she struggled against his hold, tears streaming down her face. He held her wrists tightly, making sure she didn't do anything she regret: and when she calmed down, she seemed to stop going against his hold.  
He didn't want to risk it, so he still held them. But the tables turned for him, when she brought her hands down. Instead of shanking him with a nearby object and leaving it at that, something else he wasn't expecting happened.  
She just set her head on his chest, her matted, thick black hair hiding her face. Her shoulders twitched every time she sniffled, and eventually, the two ended up just leaning there, by the workbench, MacCready petting her hair gently, Lionheart gripping his jacket and crying quietly.  
When she fell asleep, he took her upstairs, and laid her in her bed. He made home on the couch downstairs, as per usual, thinking over to himself.  
He still never figured out why she was crying.


	2. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2! I finally got around to beginning to work on this.  
> MacCready and Lionheart are going to learn lots and lots in this new chapter, specifically about themselves. I had somebody inbox me on Tumblr about writing these sections a lot longer, so I'm going to try and really work my writing skills to churn something out for these two.  
> I hope after the deep research and thought that went into writing MacCready, that I'm characterizing him correctly. He's a really great character for Lionheart and I hope that he's being done justice in this fic.  
> This is also going to reference some canon Fallout 4 dialogue, so if you don't like that, skip this first part. The longer part is very character-deep, as Lionheart is telling MacCready about her past.

**Outside Diamond City. Week 3, Day 1. 9:00AM.**

It was two days ago, that Lionheart ended up coming home and crying. Afterwards, she had never mentioned it. Everytime he tried to, she'd just grunt and wouldn't reply about it. He guessed the subject was too touchy.  
They had been out on a venture, and were heading back to Diamond City, shoulder to shoulder. They hadn't been able to calmly walk together in a while, and while they had the time to talk, MacCready let his comment out.  
"You keep glancing over here... Are you impressed or something? I told you I was a good shot," MacCready grinned, his busted teeth making Lionheart's mouth twitch.  
"Actually?" Lionheart replied quietly, "I'm... Quite impressed with you, MacCready."  
He felt his cheeks warm a little at the sincerity in her voice, and he glanced away with a smile.  
"Yeah. I thought you might be..."  
They kept walking, both smiling a little to themselves, like giddy teenagers.

 

\-------------------------  
 **Diamond City. Week 3, Day 1. 12:32PM.**

The two of them were drinking, in her little home. She had some sweet cakes, and was giving MacCready a break that the both of them really did need. Travelling had but stress on both of them, both mentally an physically. Currently, it was their best bet.  
She put a snack cake in her mouth, Lionheart curled up for the most part on the sofa she had. MacCready just drank at his bottle, and in their chat, had to stop.  
Lionheart was smiling, and for once, it wasn't forced. He could see the sincerity of it, like her statement before they came into the city. He had a funny feeling something was up, so MacCready stopped his story to look at her, putting his bottle down on his leg. Maybe it was the alcohol kicking in between them, but things felt less tense than normal.  
"What?" MacCready asked, "You're grinning."  
Lionheart took her box of snack cakes, and sat it on the coffee table. "Whenever you start talking about something you like," She muttered, "You smile really subtly, especially when you're talking about yourself. I thought it was cute."  
Her smile faded a little, as she looked back to him. That face she always wore was staring at him, and yet, he felt it had softened.  
"Oh, uhm..." He grew a little warm in the face, like he had earlier. What was he, twelve? "I dunno... You seem like you're listening, and I don't get to talk to people that often. People I trust for the most part, anyway. Didn't know I smiled like that."  
Lionheart made a chuckle, that warm chuckle that sounded like milk chocolate, melting by a fire. So smooth and yet carried the love and warmth MacCready didn't usually hear from her. It was a chuckle he liked to think only he heard.  
"You trust me?" She asked, raising a brow. "Never thought I'd hear that from a guy I managed to pay only a fourth of the price for."  
MacCready grunted. "Yeah, well, you were nice about the price thing. And I gave you those caps back after we got of Winlock and Barnes. It's a debt thing. I'm just being honest about it because you're honest with me, and I trust you."  
Lionheart paused, before taking her own Gwinnett Stout of her coffee table, taking a swig. She let out a breath, putting the bottle back down, curling back up in her coat on the side of the couch.  
"I suppose that's true, but I haven't really talked about myself all that much," She pointed out.  
"I thought it's a touchy subject, so I didn't ever ask about it," He retorted.  
There was a small silence, a pause, where both MacCready and Lionheart held their breath. The two of them didn't have a lot of touchy moments.  
"Mh... True. Do you... want to know about me?" Lionheart finally let out.  
"Sure."  
Lionheart sat up, pondering for a moment, before starting.  
"My name isn't actually Lionheart, if you wanted to know."  
"...Well, I mean," MacCready mentioned, "I assumed that, since you're in the Wasteland and names can be whatever you kind of want."  
"Yeah. But my actual name is Liona Heartland," She smiled, " Originally it was because I was so small and frail people thought that my confidence was going to end up getting me killed. Then I got the name whole Lionheart from a mercenary friend, the first few years I was out of the vault. I was so young, I was only twenty something, but I could tank and I could take down a Supermutant like it was nobody's business. So, my fellow mercs started to call me Lionheart."  
MacCready laughed at that, grinning and taking another swig of his drink, "Really now? And I was thinking it was because your hair looks like a Lion's mane."  
She punched his arm playfully, a grin on his face as she snickered. "Jackass."  
The two of them paused, and he made a sour face, as did she; they then burst into chuckles and laughs at how stupid the notion was, MacCready putting a hand to his face.  
She sniffled, a smile still on her dark face. "Heh... and grandfather said I'd never find somebody with my type of humor."  
It then occured to MacCready, that Lionheart was actually 200 years old, and then he sighed.  
"Oh, yeah. I forgot you came from a Vault."  
"Yeah. Where else would I have gotten this cool Pip-Boy?" she said, tapping the screen, "You guys wouldn't even believe half the stories I told you from the past. Just like to Moe, how baseball doesn't result in anybody dying. Didn't believe a word I said."  
"Well, now I'm interested."  
"It's not really that interesting," She replied, "It'd just be stuff about my heritage, old Boston."  
"Heritage?"  
"Mhm," Lionheart nodded, "I'm a Wampanoag, the Native tribe nearby. Or used to be, until Nuclear war decided to happen and the majority of humanity was killed out."  
"Woah... There were like, Native people here?"  
"Yeah. People that came here even before the Pre-war people, for thousands and thousands of years." She said, putting her palms up, "We used to go and use the nature for things, everything. We'd do all the domestic work, and the boys would go fishing, and everything was alright. I decided that I wanted to see the world, left my tribe with my husband at the age of about eighteen or nineteen."  
He looked to her. "You were so young... The hell were you doing, leaving like that?"  
"Well... Afterward, we learned Nate had to go to war, and he did. I learned I was pregnant with Shaun about the time he left. He came back when Shaun was born. It was a few days before Halloween when he came back, and the bombs dropped a few days later. Just a young woman, her husband, and her baby. Woke up in a frozen chamber, husband was dead, baby was gone. Left my vault, world had been killed out." She continued, "I wasn't Liona Heartland anymore, that woman was left 200 years before. I became Lionheart."  
MacCready was making a face, and she blinked. "...what is it?"  
"Your son is the other living Boston native? Maybe even the only pure one left? And you never went after him?" MacCready said in disbelief.  
"...Was, the other pure one left. I wouldn't call us 'pure', either. We just had one race in us. And even that's debatable." Her eyes softened to a more saddened look, Lionheart looking to her hands, "I just remember all that we did, and it helped with me living in the Wasteland."  
MacCready softened as well, looking to Lionheart.  
"...Lionheart, what happened to Shaun?" MacCready asked softly, "If I can ask that."  
She shook her head, and took another snack cake from the table.  
"Not right now," Lionheart muttered, "But maybe one day."


	3. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SPOILERS. THIS CHAPTER HAS A LOT OF SPOILERS!!!!
> 
> Something happens during the course of the next few days, and when Lionheart goes missing, MacCready had to set things right.

**Diamond City. Week 3, Day 4. 5:00PM.**

This was killing MacCready.  
Lionheart wasn't talking to him.  
He hadn't spoken to her in two, what, three days? She would keep silent, there were grunts and yes or nos, and the occasional warning when they went out to go travel. But the lack of talking, was starting to kill him.  
He must've said something, maybe this was his fault. Something he had said must've ticked her off. Great. Oh, God... he didn't know what he said, but Lionheart was finally opening up to him, then blam! She suddenly goes silent and he doesn't get anywhere with her. Shutting him out.  
He should've expected her to be this way, since there was no way somebody like her could be friends with somebody like him. They were mercenaries, and it wasn't like she was his. They were comrades, he was her paid sharpshooter. Nothing more.  
Yet, this burn was hurting more than the usual. Seeing the back of her head, as they walked back to Diamond City. Silence. He wanted her to turn around, to smile at him, laugh like she usually did. Those cat-like eyes to look at his, with that softness she had a week ago. He wanted her to lean against him while they were hiding, her oddly silky hair tickling the side of his arm.  
He just wanted her to say hello, say anything. But nothing came.  
They continued walking, with an emptiness that lacked those loving giggles and laughs they had a few days ago.

 **\-------------------------**  
**Diamond City. Week 3, Day 4. 9:00PM.**

She was asleep, but he just couldn't. He couldn't find it in him to sleep.  
He was by the couch, smoking a cigarette. MacCready breathed out, stuck in his head.  
Why did he care so much about her? It was never going to work out.  
Why did he give her those caps back? It wasn't anything but making them even.  
Why did he let her help him? He kept taking, but never gave back.  
Why, oh why, was her silence hurting him so badly? It wasn't like she was talkative.  
And then it hit MacCready, like a brick. Well, specifically, he had bumped into their wall with his cigarette to lean, but the realization felt as stiff as the wall he was against.  
He loved Lionheart, didn't he? After she helped him out with Duncan, and then Winlock and Barnes, too? He was in love with the woman who'd hired him for a measly 75 caps.  
He breathed out. MacCready suppressed that idea. No. She was married before, and he was, too. They both had kids. They weren't two single teenagers in the wasteland.  
Yet twenty minutes after this thought, he was petting Dogmeat up the second floor by hers, looking to her sleeping figure. Her fluffy hair laying against her face, some of it glinting in the faded light within the house. Her soft hand cupped by her head, and a tranquil expression on her face. She looked so peaceful, so happy. Such a contrast from what she was during the day.  
When a tear trickled down her face, it sparkled against the light.  
MacCready wished he could wipe it away.

 **\-------------------------**  
**Diamond City. Week 3, Day 5. 8:00AM.**

She was gone, by the time he had woken up. Dogmeat was snuggled up beside him, and she wasn't in her bed. It was rather early, so he had guessed she'd gone out to get some food or something. He never questioned what she did, but he wished he could tell her how worried he got sometimes.  
He left their home (who was he kidding, it was her home), and looked around to the market. People were super chatty, happy and drinking and all. He knew it wasn't really any holiday, so he was wondering why everybody seemed so happy when they usually were hating each other and screaming about synths.  
Nat was calling with her papers nearby, a grin on her face.  
"The Institute's Director has died!" Nat called, "Will they continue to be a threat to the commonwealth?"  
The director of the Institute was... dead? Well, that had to be something interesting. He walked to where Nat was, paying her the five caps for the paper. When he looked on the page, MacCready had to take a pause.  
No. That paper had to be wrong, it had to be.  
Shaun Heartland. The director of the Institute.  
Shaun.  
He had to look around again. People were cheering, people were happy. Clinking drinks and shoving noodles into their mouths. People seemed... so happy.  
Yet, Lionheart was nowhere in sight. She was gone. Things began to make sense, he had to piece things together. Shaun was who Lionheart said she had stopped looking for, after killing the guy who had stolen Shaun. But...  
Shaun was the director of the Institute. The wasteland's biggest enemy, and her son was the leader of it. Where was she? What happened to her? He had to question it, because now Lionheart was gone. She wasn't home. People were cheering over the death of her son.  
He went back to her home, checked all over again, double over. He loaded his rifle, got his ammo, and strapped Dogmeat up.  
He had to find her. God, he just had to. He had to make things right.


	4. The Third Rail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaah, two updates in one day!! I'm so happy!! ^v^
> 
> This one has the gentle and loving papa Hancock in it, oh yes. More spoilers, lmao.
> 
> Also some sweet feels

**Diamond City. Week 3, Day 6. 11:00AM.**

He didn't have to go far, to find where Lionheart had gone. Specifically, she was bunked in Goodneighbor; he assumed so, and was right, considering she'd be safe there. Mostly.  
MacCready went into the Third Rail, knowing she'd find comfort in there. He had previously asked around, who was where, and she was the 'old newcomer' who'd been drinking herself silly.  
When he got down to the bottom of the stairs, he scanned the room. Some regulars waved, and Dogmeat sniffed around. He made a whine, and MacCready looked down.  
"What is it, boy? Think you can find your momma?" MacCready asked Dogmeat, who made a small bark and sniffed the ground. Everything smelled like alcohol to MacCready, but he was sure Lionheart could be found among them.  
Dogmeat sniffed around, and when he started going into that familiar room in the back, MacCready knew.  
There she was, red hues against her dark skin, a bottle in her hand. Discarded between two seats, as if she were a box, or another peice of furniture. Tears had dampened her cheeks, and she looked so lost, so sad in that area.  
He had never felt such a pain in his heart, seeing somebody like this.  
MacCready stepped over to where she was, looking over her gently, with caution. She was hurting. He had to treat this like a deer-in-headlights situation.  
He leaned down to where she was, on his knees, thinking of some way to help her. Dogmeat whined gently, and he watched her with sad eyes.  
She reached out a hand, a shaking hand, and she looked up finally with a small, choked noise.  
"MacCready.." The croaked out, grabbing a hold of his jacket. When he went to take a hold of her hand, he was instead met with her yanking him forward, Lionheart hugging him tightly against herself, hiccuping out another cry.  
"Hey, hey," He muttered, on his knees to try and hug her in return, "I'm here, Lionheart, don't worry. Me and Dogmeat are here for you."  
She sniffled and choked up another sob, burying her face in his shoulder. He just wrapped his arms around her, and hugged her in return. Dogmeat nosed his way over, nuzzling beside them in that small crevice.  
"He's gone," She muttered roughly, "They really let him go. Right there. And he was the leader of... the fucking Institute,"  
"I know, Lionheart," He replied quietly, petting her hair, "I know. I'm sorry he's gone."  
"After all this time, he's the Father of the fucking Institute..." She said, ignoring what he said, "Nooshun kesukqut, I can't..."  
He shook his head. "Hey... It isn't your fault, none of this is..."  
"I know," she cried, "But I wish I could've changed his fate."

 **\-------------------------**  
**Diamond City. Week 3, Day 6. 4:00PM.**

MacCready woke up, with Lionheart still sitting with him. Instead, she was sitting in his lap, her head rested on his shoulder, Dogmeat laying by his side. The dog had his eyes fixed on the doorway.  
It was a cozy position, although the dizziness from waking up so suddenly. His eyes finallu unblurred, and he wiped at them, yawning to himself.  
"So," Came a scratchy voice, "Look what two little birdies came back to my safe place."  
MacCready blinked, and his eyes focused on the revolutionary ghoul standing in the doorway.  
"Oh... Hey, Hancock."  
Hancock grinned, that stupid smile on his face.  
"Hey, MacCready. Takin' care of Kitty Mama for us?" Hancock spoke up, lighting a cigarette.  
"...Uh," He muttered, "Yeah. She's just been having some troubles, lately."  
"I know, I heard about her son up in the Institute. It's a shame. Poor girl."  
MacCready's eyebrows knit together, as he looked down at Lionheart. His arm was around her, holding her waist gingerly, her hand pressed gently to his chest underneath his coat.  
"Y'know, I was one of the first people to talk to her," Hancock mentioned, "She'd just come from the Vault, wandered her way to my building. I said, 'Alright, Pretty Mama, I'll hook you up with a place to stay safe', and now here we are. The sincerity in that girl's thank-you was one of the most genuine I'd seen in a long time."  
"Never would've thought," MacCready half-joked.  
"It's believable. She's so honest, but she comes off as so harsh. Guess the people in Diamond City want her banished now?"  
"Oh, I'm sure. She's the mother of the Institute's Father. Next they'll be threatening us that we're synths, and she's with the Institute. I have no idea where we're gonna go, or where she's gonna get her stuff back. And Piper's going to have hell, next time I see her..."  
Hancock shrugged. "I'm sure Daisy can get you covered. After all, she's the one who takes most kindly to the both of you."  
MacCready nodded. They stayed in silence for a bit, before Hancock put his cigarette out.  
"Take good care of her, MacCready," Hancock spoke gently, "You've become all she's got out here."  
He nodded again, running his hand through her hair.  
"I promise," MacCready spoke, not sure if it was to Hancock, or to her.


	5. Stargazing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More feels TvT;;

 

**Diamond City. Week 4, Day 1. 10:00PM.**

They weren't allowed back into Diamond City. They knew that.

The pair hadn't anywhere else to go; Piper, who had to help her friend out at the (shocking) announcement that Lionheart was no longer welcome in the Great Green Jewel for being with the Institute, had been able to gather her most precious belongings. Clothes, collectables, her cute little Vault-Boy Intelligence bobblehead. It was kind of Piper, really.

She had nowhere else to go to seek help- Piper travelled to Sanctuary just to talk to Preston about a settlement Lionheart and MacCready could go to. She was given three responses-- The Red Rocket gas station that was nearby, Sanctuary with everyone else (as long as they did their part, they could stay in one of the farther houses), or Sunshine Tidings Co-Op, with the two settlers there with their hippy Mr. Handy.

Lionheart felt an urge to stay far away from Garvey, but she was able to concur with Piper --- Sanctuary was the safest option, even if she disliked Preston and his whole 'Minutemen' deal. It was the Wasteland--- his ideals were going to be the death of him.

So they travelled, across Boston, nearby the Vault Lionheart had sprung out of years before.

They had made it to the Red Rocket, tired and cold. They hadn't spoken -- but Lionheart had been holding MacCready's tightly. As if she were going to lose him at any moment. And MacCready didn't mind the silence -- Lionheart was still trying to grasp her situation. He'd give her all the time she needed. Dogmeat trotted beside her leg, panting gently to himself while he watched the road ahead.

She promptly stopped-- for a reason unknown to MacCready -- and looked to the sky. The blue backdrop was speckled with sparkling, shiny stars, each mystifying the sky with their light. He looked up at these, as well, although he felt rather unachieved, standing at a gas station to look at stars with a troubled woman and her dog.

The troubled woman that was holding his hand, looking to the sky in wonder.

She finally spoke up.

“MacCready,” She muttered, “Let’s find a place to sit for the night.”

He looked to her, “But, Sanctuary is like, right there.”   
“And so is Preston Garvey,” She shot back calmly, “Come on. Maybe we can find a ladder to put up and get to the roof of the Red Rocket.”

He sighed. Letting go of her hand, the two of them entered the Red Rocket nearby and scavenged for little things. Lionheart found her ladder, putting it to the back of the building. She began to climb up, MacCready gathering Dogmeat into his arms. It was quite the struggle, but eventually, all three of their group was on the roof of the Red Rocket.

Lionheart set down her bag and sat down, looking up to the sky once again. Dogmeat found his home beside her, snuggling against her. MacCready watched the two, before sitting down beside Lionheart and smiling to himself.  _ She’s so cute, _ MacCready thought,  _ when she’s all in wonder like that. _

His train of thought stopped as she smiled and spoke to him.

“Y’know,” She muttered, “My friend Lulu, from my Mercenary group… She used to tell us the stories about the stars. She seemed really mystic even though she was a mercenary.”

“A mercenary that tells stories about the stars. That sounds rather story-bookish.”

“It really does. But she used to say, that all the stars were people that died. Like, the bright ones were the happy ones. And the dim ones were sad ones… There’s a whole lot of stars out tonight.”

“You’re right…” MacCready replied, “I mean, the capital wasteland  _ is _ pretty harsh… I feel bad for all those stars.”

“I hope that those really bright ones are Nate and Shaun… Maybe they’re playing Blast Radius together, like Nate always wanted to.”

The somberness in Lionheart’s voice softened her face, her entirety, to MacCready. As if she was surrendering to the sad thoughts she had often pushed away. MacCready had softened around her as well. He wondered if what her story said was true, and if it was, maybe Lucy was playing with them, too.

Lionheart set her head on MacCready’s shoulder, and sighed. Dogmeat sighed in return, like dogs do. In return, MacCready set his head on hers.

“I’m sorry for all this mess, MacCready,” Lionheart whispered, “It was never meant to hit the fan so hard that I had to leave our home.”

His heart beated softly to that. It wasn’t just her home --- she considered it  _ their  _ home.

He sat there, pondering on that thought, before he felt a warm, soft hand against his cheek. It was Lionheart’s, pulling his face towards hers. A sweet, subtle kiss to his rather chapped lips.

The kiss lasted for just a moment, before she pulled away with a grin, looking back up to the stars. MacCready sat there for a moment, quietly, before looking away. He had a smile pulling at his lips. Lionheart let out a soft sigh, petting Dogmeat gently.

“I love you.” She muttered.

He paused, before nodding. “Love you too, Lionheart.”

She sat her head back onto his shoulder, MacCready taking his hat off to place it on her head. The two fell asleep like that, laying against the back of the Red Rocket roof.


	6. Settling Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I got a few people asking me to continue this. And I did! Here's some fluffy filler until I incorporate my other characters.

**Red Rocket Gas Station. Week 5, Day 1. 8:00AM.**

 

Things hadn't been kind to MacCready or Lionheart, in any way, shape, or form. The people of Sanctuary had a general, unspoken rule with Lionheart: as long as they didn't mess with her, she wouldn't mess with them. Nothing would mysteriously dissapear, nothing would be out of place, by the other party's cause.  
Lionheart absolutely refused to be by them unless necessary; she had ended up making up a place in her old home, before feeling it was too much. She couldn't handle the overwhelming amount of guilt in that home, so she packed their things and they began to build their home at the Red Rocket gas station down the road.  
There were so many things MacCready was soon learning about Lionheart. And some things that he had forgotten.  
For starters, Lionheart had the tongue of a silver snake, and the cunning of a fox. They had met a man named Gene, who was growing old, and was trying to sell his dog. She managed to get the dog for 50 caps, away from the original 250, to get Dogmeat a companion. They named the dog Luna, and went on with their lives.  
MacCready was okay with Dogmeat. He was a sweet dog. Luna was lazy, like a fat, white hot dog with legs. She was a large, chubby looking pitbull (if he could guess right), who slobbered and licked and was too heavy to be a lap dog.  
Dogmeat could fit in his lap, and give kisses if he wanted to. Wasn't messy. Wasn't suffocating.  
Luna wouldn't fit in his lap, and when she gave kisses, it was like being drowned in the creek nearby.  
And yet, MacCready couldn't help a tiny smile everytime Lionheart would return from somewhere with two giant dogs pouncing on her, licking her and covering her in slobber. And she didn't care if she got dirty, either. She'd already be covered in gore and blood and dirt, and the dog slobber just made her look funnier.  
Oh, and the laugh, that laugh that she had. It came full-hearted, loud, and with a grin MacCready rarely saw, her sharp little canines poking through her purple-colored lips.  
Luna was still a nuiscance though.  
And then, somehow, Lionheart found another dog. She was a rottweiler, named Jerky; she was also squishy, like a smushed hot dog, with floppy ears and a big smile. She wasn't as sweet as Luna.  
She'd sometimes pull on Luna or Dogmeat's ears, and roll around on the floor, making her dirty. And then, when she was done rolling on the ground, she'd tackle MacCready onto the ground to lay on him and get him dirty, too. Which, within the first few hours, MacCready started to realize that Jerky was actually trying to piss him off, and knew exactly what she was doing.  
And then came Smokey the cat, and that was when MacCready put his foot down. Lionheart didn't bring any more pets after that, since the Red Rocket station already had it's share of animalistic partnership.  
If that wasn't bad enough, MacCready knew that every single one of those animals would come and lay down with them when the two of them went to sleep. Jerky would be on the floor, at the edge of the bed, on Lionheart's side. She'd keep watch. Smokey would slither his way to her pillow, curling up in a little kitty ball beside Lionheart's own fluffy mane. Dogmeat would sit on MacCready's side, by his feet, keeping his legs warm. Luna would sleep on the end completely, all the way acrossed until she was nose-to-nose with Dogmeat.  
Sometimes MacCready could catch the two dogs giving little kisses and doggy licks to each other. He wondered what Dogmeat saw in the fat, white hot dog.  
The other thing MacCready forgot about Lionheart, was the fact that the woman was a hoarder. Not just borderline, not just a hunch.  
She'd be out with him, sniping down raiders and stealing shit from them. He'd see her swipe a hot plate. He'd question it, but wouldn't say anything. Then it would be an antique globe. And then an empty Gwinett bottle. And when she'd finally pick up the fucking Mr. Handy fuel, he had to say something.  
"Come on, just... just leave it behind! What do we need this for, even?" He said quietly, putting the fuel container down to look at her scoldingly.  
The looked back, and shrugged, before picking it up and putting it in her own backpack.  
"I 'unno, maybe we might need it soon. Or maybe Codsworth might want it. Who knows." She said, and that was the end of that conversation.  
At least he knew that the piles and piles of plastic bowls, hot plates, pre-war money, and globes were going in her dresser, and not his.  
And the last thing MacCready had forgotten, was that Lionheart, despite all this random nonsense she brought to his life, she was... well, his, finally. His and his alone.  
She'd come back, and after getting assaulted by dog kisses and slobber and a cat trying to cuddle the hell out of her boots, it was his arms she'd drop into and laugh, it was his lips she was kissing, it was her hugs he was getting.  
It was her that came home, came home just to see him and just to be back with him. Just coming back, to be with somebody who she had only known for maybe a few months.  
Somebody who she had fallen in love with, shared drinks and cigarettes and moments with. Him.


End file.
